The present invention relates to a drain suction relief device and method for installing it on swimming pools and more particularly concerns a prefabricated safety device for installation in new and existing pools to avoid an object or person being trapped below water or harmed by a swimming pool drain inlet from the suction from a swimming pool recirculating pump system.
Unfortunately, accidents occur whereby individuals, usually children and young adults, are trapped by the suction created in a swimming pool recirculating system at the inlet of a main drain in such a system. The hair of the individual may be sucked into the drain and/or a body part may obstruct or block the drain, thereby forming a vacuum in the main drain line. This vacuum may prevent the person, particularly a child, from escaping; often leading to serious injury, drowning when trapped below the water surface or even disembowelment where a person is seated on the drain.
This severe problem has resulted in many attempted and varied solutions. Examples of such prior art are U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,878 to Johnson, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,391 to Shepherd, U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,406 to Chalberg, et al., which disclose safety devices which are integrally designed and incorporated into the structure of the whirlpool baths or spas for which they are intended. Further attempts in the prior art are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,624 to Ciochetti, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,808 to Gallagher, et al. which use valves with moving parts that are triggered upon the creation of a vacuum. Other attempts, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,041 to Burkitt, utilize pressure sensors and water level sensors that activate switches that turn off the pump. Also, vacuum release vertical pipes have been used on pools before. The present invention, as distinguished from the prior art, takes the form of an xe2x80x9cadd onxe2x80x9d kit that is prefabricated and suitable for retrofitting existing swimming pool recirculating systems, as well as for use in new systems. The invention has no moving parts, is made from simple pipes familiar in the art, and is not subject to wear nor requires maintenance. It eliminates the need to do calculations, design work or fabrication work when installing such a safety device on a pool. The invention is suitable for virtually any swimming pool recirculating system, regardless of pump capacity, line size, or pool depth, and maintains the integrity of the existing recirculating system without need for reconfiguration or redesign.
The present invention entails a safety device capable of eliminating the vacuum created in the main drain line of a pool when an object or person obstructs or becomes trapped against the drain or other suction line inlet of a swimming pool recirculating pump system. The vacuum elimination safety device is installed in the main drain suction line of the swimming pool recirculating pump system. The present invention is constructed through installing one end of an interior vertical pipe fluidly connected to the main drain suction line in a xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d-type connection with the second end opening downward. The interior vertical pipe is enclosed within an exterior vertical sump pipe of larger diameter that is closed at the bottom end and vented to the atmosphere at the top. The configuration of the vertical pipes creates a column of water that is vented to the atmosphere during normal operation of the swimming pool recirculating system. When the main drain of the swimming pool is blocked or obstructed, thereby creating a vacuum at the point of the obstruction or blockage, the water within the column created by the present invention is evacuated and the suction is broken as air is pulled through the open vent of the invention. Suction is interrupted, and the vacuum created at the point of the obstruction or blockage is eliminated, thereby allowing removal of the obstruction or blockage.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved safety device for use in a swimming pool recirculating pump system that eliminates the vacuum created when the intake to the recirculating pump system is obstructed or blocked. The pump intake may be obstructed or blocked by a person, and more particularly a child or young adult, resulting in serious injury or death through suction disembowelment, or drowning through suction entrapment or hair entanglement.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety device that is not dependent on electric, mechanical, or magnetic components for operation in eliminating the vacuum created when a pool suction line is obstructed or blocked. The present invention uses gravity and a simple pipe configuration rather than valves, sensors, or switching components. It is therefore very unlikely that the device will fail as a result of wear or interruption of power. Further, the components of the present device will not need maintenance or replacement. Lastly, the present device is not capable of a xe2x80x9cfalsexe2x80x9d shut off of the swimming pool recirculating pump system through the inadvertent activation of a valve or sensor.
Yet another object of the present invention is to limit the suction head created by a swimming pool recirculating pump to a minimum usable level regardless of the size or strength of the pump.
An additional object of the present invention is that it may be installed as a xe2x80x9ckitxe2x80x9d on virtually any pool, whether new or existing. The invention is intended to be self-contained and made of materials familiar in the art, preferably polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping, The exact limiting quantity of suction is determined by the internal dimensions and arrangement of the piping and sump.
The device is not limited by the configuration of the swimming pool recirculating pump system and drains, the pump or line size, the depth of the pool, or whether the elevation of the swimming pool recirculating pump is located above the level of water in the pool, at water level, or below water level. Regardless of the pool""s configuration, the device can be installed in the main drain suction line with the top of the device extending approximately 6xe2x80x3 above the pool water level. Moreover, the hydraulics of the device will operate uniformly regardless of the pool configuration. Therefore there is no need for measuring or modification specific to the pool system on which the safety device is being installed. Also, because the device only requires that a relatively shallow excavation be dug close to the edge of the pool, installation in new systems and retrofit of existing systems is simple and inexpensive.